Stage appliance for theaters.



(lo Mdel.)

No. 688,337. A Patnted Dec. lo, 19m.4 L. .1.. .CARTER STAGE APPLIANGEFOR THEATERS."

` Lppxition sied Feb'. bs, 1900.)

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No. 688,387. Patented Dec. I0, |90I.

L. J. CARTER. STAGE APPLIANCE FOR THEATERS.

(Application led Feb. 28, 1900.)

(No Model.)

f. 17, .m l

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Y'LINCOLN J. CARTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ySTAGE APPLIANCEFOR THEATERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,387, dated December 10, 1901. Applicationfuedretfmyts,190e. serial Naasos. cromati.;

To aZZ whom t may concern: Y

Be it known that I, LINCOLN J. CARTER, citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Stage Appliances for Theaters, of whichthe following is a specification.

The object of my invention has more particular reference to' the means by which the border-lights, as they are called, of stages of theaters may be varied, dimmed, or entirely cut off at will, so that the most realistic effects may be obtained in those cases Where it is desirable to change or vary the lightl from daylight to twilight or darkness, through the intermediate shades and colors attending the setting of the sun, the rising of the moon, the glare of a conagration, or other cases where it is desirable to change or Vary the color and light from daylight to darkness or to any intermediatelcharacter of light, or vice versa;

l and my invention consists in the combinations, details, and features of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure lis a rear elevation of my'improved appliance; Fig. 2, a broken plan view of the same; Fig. 3, a broken sec.

tional longitudinal elevation; Fig. 4, a crosssection taken on line et of Fig. 2; Figf, a broken plan view of the curtain or screenused in securing vthe varying eects, and Fig. 6 a cross-section taken on line`6 of Fig. 5.

In making my improved stage appliance for theaters I make a :frame A of the desired length and width. In u se I find it convenient to make it long enough to practically extend from `one side of the stage to the other and makeit of, say, eight or ten inches in width,

so that while accommodating thelights mounted and carried uponfit it will not occupy any greater room than necessary. The desirability to any particular kind of lights intended to be mounted upon and carried by the frame. These frames,with.their lights,a're intended to be supported in the loft ofv the theater by cords or cables C, so that they may be raised into Vposition,maintained there, and lowered Whenever it may b e necessary to trim the lights or for other purposes. I arrange in the ends of the frames drums D of a desired size, supported on trunnions receivedin journal-boxes d on the side bars of the frame, so that the drums may be readily rotated at will, as may be desired, in the manipulation of the device. I

arrange sheaves D2 at the sides of the drums ldrum to which the sheave contai-ning the cord is attached. Another cord EY extends from the sheave attached to the drum at the other end of the frame and passes overrolls or pulleys and sustains the counterweight G, which may be a bag of sandor other material of the desired weight. I then make a "curtain or 'screen H of any desired material, preferably transparent Celluloid, (though any othersuitable materialmay be used,) of a width to be received into the drums and wound therearound. This screen or curtain is intended to be made in sections, each equal in length to the distance between the drunis, or at least to the` space occupied by the lights. Each section is of a desired appropriate color, preferablypassin g from one color to another with'-r out abrupt differences, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the color-changing effect Will be a gradual one. One end of the curtain is attached to one of the drums and the vother end to the other drum. The screen or curtain is then wound around. one of the drums until it is stretched between the two. By reference to Figs. 2 and 3 it Will be noticed that the screenl to representa daylight scene on the stage IOO and it be desired to pass bygentle gradations to the darkness of night, all that is necessary is to turn the windlass F, which will cause the curtain or screen to be wound around the drum D and unwound from the drum D. As the screen or curtain is then drawn between the lights and the stage and in close proximity to the lights such lights will be dimmed and the light admitted to the stage changed in color slowly and gradually as the curtain passes between the stage and one light after the other. When the first section of one color has been drawn entirely across, the light will gradually have been changed to that caused by the passage of the light through the interposed colored screen or cu rtain. By continuing the operation the second section will begin to` pass between the lights and the stage, so that agradual change in the color of the light admitted to the stage will be effected, until, when it has been drawn entirely across, thelighton the stage will have been changed to that causedby the second screen. Bycontinuingtheoperation thethird and other screens will pass consecutively between the lights andthe stage,cuttingoff,dim ming, and changing the character of the light admitted to the stage until from daylight the light ou the stage will have been changed to that of night, when if a very dark or opaque section ot' the screen or curtain be drawn across the effect of dark night will be produced. In like manner the effect can be reversed, so that from darkness the stage will gradually be illumined with daylight, representing the progressive changes that take place with the rising of the sun. In like manner the effect of the rising or fading of a conlagration can be secured by moving the curtain or screen in the one direction or the other.

By the simple and effective arrangements above described all the desired changes in the character of the light illuminating the stage of a theater may be secured without employing the costly, cumbersome, and intricate mechanism now required for the purpose.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a light for theatrical scenic effects, of an endwise-traveling curtain or screen arranged adjacent to the light and composed of sections or divisions of different transparency for presenting different characteristics to the produced effect, a frame carrying the curtain or screen, suspending-cords for raising and lowering the frame, revoluble spools or spindles one at each end of the frame, carrying the curtain or screen, a draw-cord for one of the spools or spindles operating to revolve the spools or spindles and advance the curtain or screen, and a cord and weight for the other spool or spindle operating to revolve the spools or spindles in the opposite direction and withdraw the curtain or screen, and have the rotation in either direction travel the curtain or screen endwise across the projection of light, substantially as described.

2. The combination in an appliance for producing theatrical scenic clfects, of a frame composed of side rails and connecting end rails, means for suspending and vertically moving the frame to have the interior thereofl above the to-be-illuminated portion of .the stage, lights within the frame mounted on the inner faces of the rails, an endWise-traveling curtain or screen having sections of different transparency movable from one end of the frame to the other between the lights arranged therein and that portion of the stage to be illuminated, and means for effecting the travel of the screen endwise and at will, substantially as described.

3. The combination in an appliance for producing theatrical scenic effects of a rectangular frame composed of side rails and connecting end rails, means for suspending and vertically moving the frame to have the 1nterior thereof in li'ne with the to-be-lluminated portion of the stage, lights within the frame mounted on the inner faces of the rails, two drums, one on each end of the frame mounted on the upper edges of the side rails and revoluble between the side rails, an endwise-traveling curtain or screen composed of sections or divisions of ditferenttransparency for giving diiferent characteristics to the produced effect, carried on the drums and revoluble from one drum to the other in front of the lights and along the lower edge of the frame when the drums are rotated, thereby traveling from one end of the frame to the other between the lights therein and that portion of the stage to be illuminated, and means for giving rotation to the drums, substantially as described.

4. The combination in an appliance for producing theatrical scenic effects of a frame movable up and down, composed of side rails and connecting end rails, means for suspending and vertically moving the frame so that vthe interior thereof will be in line with the to-be-illuminated portion of the stage, lights within the frame mounted on the inner faces of the rails, two drums, one at each end of the frame, mounted on the upper edges of the side rails an endwise-traveling'curtain or screen arranged adjacent to the lights and composed of sections or divisions of different transparency for giving dilferent characteristics to the produced effect, mounted on the drums andai-ranged to move,when the drums are rotated from one end of the frame to the other between the lights therein and that portion of the stage to be illuminated, and means for giving rotation to the drums, substantially as described.

5. The combination in an appliance for producing theatrical eects of a frame, means for suspending and vertically moving the frame so that the interior thereof will be directly above the to-be-illuminated portion of ICS IIO

the stage, lights mounted Within. the frame, an endwise-traveling curtain or screen having sections of different transparency movable along the edge of the frame nearest the stage from one end of the frame to the other between the lights arranged therein and that portion of the stage to be illuminated, and

means for effecting the travel of the screen endwise at will, substantially as described.-

Y LINCOLN J. CARTER.

Witnesses:

THOMAS FrSHERIDAN, -THoMAs B. MCGREGOR. 

